WLUML is deeply concerned that the first public act of the Libya's National Transition Committee has been to proclaim on October 23rd, 2011, that a number of laws would be considered annulled and that 'sharia law' was to replace them. Libya’s National Transition Committee is an interim government – what it has responsibility for – and its first action should have been to put into place a mechanism for elections for the new government after the fall of the Gaddafi regime.

We live in historic times. People in the Arab world are rising up against political dictatorship and corruption; they demand reforms and are organizing for freedom, human dignity and social justice. Women have been shouldering the responsibilities in all uprisings and their movement is an integral part of the democratic forces for social and economic justice. But they are systematically excluded from the decision making processes that shape the future of their countries. What democracies are then being prepared and negotiated?

The Violence is Not our Culture (VNC) Campaign welcomes long awaited and recent reforms announced by King Abdullah Bin-Abd-al-Aziz Al Saud, that promise to gives Saudi Arabian women the rights to vote and run for office in municipal council elections, and to become full voting members of the next Shura council. The promise to increase women’s participation in civic life is a tribute to women’s efforts on the ground who have been campaigning inside the country, despite strict and rigid opposition.

Women’s rights activist Maryam Bahreman remains in detention despite an order from the Prosecutor’s office in Shiraz to release her on bail at the start of July. Amnesty International considers her to be a prisoner of conscience, held solely for the peaceful exercise of her rights to freedom of expression and association. See WLUML's action alert here and/or follow the instructions in the Amnesty letter campaign.

Maryam Majd, a women’s sports photographer, arrested on her way to film the Women’s Soccer World Cup in Germany, has been released on bail, of 100,000 US Dollars, because of poor health. Maryam Majd disappeared on her way from Tehran, Iran, to Dusseldorf in Germany on the 17th of June 2011. She was held in Tehran's notorious Evin prison, in ward 2A, controlled by the Revolutionary Guards. Ms Majd was expected in Germany for two months during the Women's Soccer World Cup 2011, in order to produce a photographic record of the different soccer teams.

Maryam Majd, an Iranian photojournalist, who disappeared on her way from Tehran, Iran, to Dusseldorf in Germany is being held in Tehran's notorious Evin prison. She is in ward 2A, controlled by the Revolutionary Guards, according to a reliable source. It is now over ten days since she last spoke to her family. During that phone call, she was crying and asked her mother 'Please do something to release me from here'. Her family and friends are particularly concerned that she has access to her medication, which she takes daily. No formal charges have been brought against Ms. Majd so far.

Maryam Majd, an Iranian photojournalist, has disappeared on her way from Tehran, Iran, to Dusseldorf in Germany, according to Petra Landers, a former national football player. In a letter to the German Foreign Office, Landers who met Maryam Majd earlier this year during a trip to Iran, explains what happened: "When I wanted to pick her up at 10:30 am on the 17th of June 2011 from Düsseldorf airport, I realized that she was not on the plane. (Mahan Airlines confirmed that Ms. Majd was not on board). By phone she was no longer reachable because the phone was switched off. Since that day nobody in Iran or in Germany has heard from Maryam Majd." This is Majd's blog (in Persian)

Saudi authorities on Monday freed a woman jailed nine days ago for her role in promoting the right to drive for Saudi women. Manal Al Sharif, a 32-year-old computer security specialist employed by the oil giant ARAMCO, was detained May 22 after she defied the kingdom's ban on female drivers and posted a video of her action on YouTube, as part of a national campaign.